MAGA: America’s Hilltop Youth

Source: Scientific Reports volume 10, Article number: 2498 (2020) Author: Pedro Correia, J. Brendan Murphy Creative Commons 4.0

Once upon a time, dinosaurs traversed Pangea, one of our planet’s historical supercontinents with ease, unhindered by the vast oceans that have now formed between the landmasses. Smack in the middle of Pangea, lay the Central Pangean Mountains, a formidable range that spanned the continent and harbored an abundant, diverse biome along the equator, which is preserved till this day in its rich coal deposits. Hundreds of millions of years of tectonic drift later, and the Atlantic Ocean now separates the two sides of what was once a mighty mountain range, torn apart and eroded by Mother Nature’s relentless assault. It’s remnants, the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains of North America, Western Europe and parts of North Africa, still dominate the local politics and geology of the region.

At the beginning of the European colonization of America, most settlers situated themselves along the eastern coast of the New World, building large commercial ports in cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Other explorers, mostly French, navigated the interior by traversing the inland waterways (i.e. the Mississippi and Ohio) and Great Lakes, establishing trading outposts and claiming territory for the motherland (“New France”). However, as the rich coastal plain began to fill up, many British settlers looked to expand westward and set their eyes upon the Appalachians. This inexorable expansion began to irritate both the natives and the French, who feared British encroachment upon their colonial holdings in “Louisiana”, and eventually led to an armed conflict, The Seven Years War/French and Indian War (1754-1763), which ended in victory for the British, who effectively drove the French out of the region. Still, France’s countless native allies, most notably the Ottawa chief Pontiac, remained a strategic threat to British colonial interests.

Map of New France ~1750 Pinpin Creative Commons

Battles of the French and Indian War Hoodlinski Creative Commons

In the midst of Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763-1766), Britain attempted to reign in further discontent by agreeing to limit the westward expansion of the Thirteen Colonies west of the Appalachians through the Proclamation of 1763. Though the concession may have helped temper some of the tensions with the natives, it angered the colonists, with many, such as Daniel Boone, openly flouting the order by continuing to settle west of the mountains. When the remaining territory was officially granted to Quebec in 1774, and not to the Thirteen Colonies, tensions continued to rise and led to the colonies’ decision to declare independence two years later. Upon its victory over the British, the United States proceeded with its westward expansion.

Map of Proclamation of 1763 NYPL, Public Domain

Thus, the Appalachian Mountains played a fundamental role not only in shaping the early history and founding of the colonies as a physical barrier that forced colonial settlement into developing strong urban centers, but by also fomenting the territorial disputes that gave rise to the United States. The untamed wilderness of the mountains served as a natural pressure cooker and strategic junction that exposed the divergent European and settler interests of the day. The Appalachians are where the settlers’ desire for expansion first came into conflict with the colonial goal of a profitable, sustainable peace. In Appalachia, the true face of the American colonial project was revealed[1], a point not lost on the many natives who ended up fighting alongside the British in the ensuing Revolutionary War. By encroaching upon the interior of the continent, the initial pretext of controlled European settlement within the confines of the coastal regions was finally lost and the American identity began to take form.

Even today, the local residents of Appalachia distinguish themselves from the rest of the country in their culture, music and traditions. Many in the region maintain a sense of pride in their home’s historic strategic value to the country, as a crossroads, an escape, a source of energy (coal) that once powered the entire nation, and as a relatively isolated pocket of pioneer spirit. Unfortunately, with the decline of heavy industry in America and the rise of drugs, Appalachia has fallen on tough times. The rust-belt suffers from decades of neglect and the transfer of much of its former wealth and population to the coastal elites. Ironically, today’s Americans now mostly dismiss the very region that gave rise to their identity, seeing it as backwards and uncivilized. What once was seen as the pinnacle of pioneering patriotism is now fly-over country scarred by decades of strip-mining.

Many of these forgotten folk of Middle-America (not limited to Appalachia) have now migrated away from their former blue-collar allegiances towards the empty promises of Mr. Trump and his MAGA movement. They see in Trump a renewal of the old American way, unfazed by the cultural constraints of the coastal elites. These MAGA supporters are looking for a way out of their poverty. They look up at their ‘Appalachian’ social barriers, resist the moralistic prodding of their privileged coastal brothers, and push the limits, knowing full well that they are sacrificing political peace for speculative gain. The reason for their support for Trump is not as much a repudiation of the specific circumstances of their cultural and economic status-quo, but something much deeper, a general rejection of the established American identity. In much the same way that the cavalier circumvention of the Proclamation of 1763 provoked the tensions that led to rebellion, MAGA supporters are now testing the waters with the Western reincarnation of the all-powerful British monarchy, the American oligarchy.

In my opinion, MAGA is more than just a political tool to achieve a stated social goal. I believe that, for better or worse, it is actually a mechanism employed by its supporters to purposefully destabilize the system in a subconscious attempt to reenact the American Revolution. The sheer impracticality and pettiness of Trump’s political goals and his clear intent to amplify political tensions with our immediate neighbors and the international community at large hint to a concealed intent to undermine American solidarity by recreating the external political tensions that isolated the colonies from their European rulers and precipitated our acrimonious divorce from Europe. The loss of face of the colonial authorities that resulted in their inability, or unwillingness, to uphold the Proclamation of 1763 is echoed by the crass contempt Trump and his allies exhibit towards the rule of law and their government itself. Trump’s actions do not merely reflect a narcissistic and avaricious spirit, set on self-promotion and nepotism, nor an opportunistic, ideologically-motivated fascism, but a deep and utter disregard for the system of power that he himself has exploited in order to secure a position of influence. The rapid dissolution of Americans’ regard for their own country can only mean one thing, that the American identity, forged in rebellion, has run its course. America now seeks out its old, European identity, and wishes to reunite with its former colonial masters.

America’s gradual rapprochement with Europe has been going on for nearly a century. Beginning in WWI, and then WWII, the U.S. has not only expressed greater interest in European politics, but has also taken a prominent role in the reshaping and rehabilitation of Europe since its near-total destruction. Today, nearly eighty years after VE day, most Americans not only still feel responsible for the protection of Europe, but also increasingly look to Europe for inspiration in a dark world. America’s inexplicable, inescapable love-affair with the old country runs counter to the separatist ideals that the Declaration of Independence espoused and has indeed begun to alter her identity from within.

Americans’ sense of pride, progress and excellence, a defining feature of our culture for well over a century, has been replaced by a self-effacing timidity and a superficial bravado that belies a profound insecurity in our country’s future. An existential anxiety pervades the core of our society and paralyzes our ability to respond to the countless new crises affecting our world. As a result of this paralysis, many in the country and across the globe have lost their faith in our leaders and now look to establish an alternative world order. The paranoid isolationism among America’s elites (e.g. Woke, MAGA, etc.) has reinforced the need many feel for an eventual confrontation between American leadership and the rest of the world, one that would check America’s place on the world stage. America’s economic stagnation, amplified by the intense infighting of the country’s decadent elites, has changed how many perceive our country.

In Europe, many of our closest allies have started to express alarm over the chaos of the last few years of American politics. They don’t just worry about the negative effects the instability may have on their own countries, but also genuinely care about our individual wellbeing. While we have long since ceased to serve as a role model for a functioning, liberal democracy, most Europeans still feel a deep gratitude over our heroic actions in WWII and empathize with those who suffer from the state of turmoil that many of us are currently experiencing. Many wish to ‘return the favor’ and intervene on our behalf, but they fear retribution from our vengeful, corrupt leaders and their European collaborators. However, as our leaders persist in their blatantly self-denigrating behavior, the absurd irrationality of their actions will allay the fears of many of our allies and prove to them the inefficacy of our leaders’ ability to resist a European adjustment. Fueled by their blind faith in a European nostalgia, Trump and his followers will inevitably force America’s leadership to surrender part of its independence back to the Europeans. Only then will America be ‘great’ again.

The resolution of the story of American independence marks the end of the social experiment that was American history. America taught the world many important lessons in statecraft and progress. It contributed greatly to the realms of technology, science, arts and culture. However, the American identity could not overcome its own lack of grounding and uniqueness. Standing on the shoulders of European giants, it failed to reinvent itself in a way that could prove sustainable in the long run. A branch of a greater cultural body, it never was able to distinguish itself from its European ancestors. By no means a waste, its ambivalent history tells as much of pain and sorrow, the inhumanity of slavery, genocide against the natives and economic persecution, as it recounts the heroism and progress of its heyday. Now, in its last act, it must reconcile with its own roots and recognize its position in Western, European history. Additionally, unlike their Latino cousins, Americans never really succeeded in establishing for themselves an alternative identity, they never were allowed to fully germinate and integrate into the soils of the New World, always remaining foreign colonists. For that reason, America, as a distinct political entity, cannot survive much longer. We must prepare for its imminent demise.

Similarly, Jewish settlers who disregarded their government’s order barring permanent settlement over the Green Line of 1949 prompted a cultural and political transformation in Israel that continues to affect their country. Israel’s MAGA, the far-right anarchists who engage daily in wanton acts of destruction against Palestinian villages, threaten not only the rule of law in Palestine, but in Israel itself. The Israeli government’s inability to enforce its own laws against vigilante extremists harms its international standing, legitimizing outside interference in its internal affairs. In both cases, the leaders of the parallel movements appear to be conscious of the detrimental effect of their actions on their country’s standing and seem to bear a subconscious attraction to their colonial past. They may wish to emulate their former masters, however, their self-effacing behavior towards their own laws harms their ability to develop an alternative, non-colonial identity. In the absence of such a coherent identity, self-rule, let alone rule over others, cannot be maintained, and their actions instead appear to express an overwhelming nostalgia for the external rule of their former sovereign (in both cases, Britain).

Nevertheless, without the involvement of other semi-dependent groups, the rapid dissolution of what is left of Israeli/American identity cannot be controlled, and will inevitably cause significant harm to many. In order to mitigate such a danger, we must call on our brothers in positions of influence within the movements themselves to exert pressure against the rash toppling of social norms without first setting the alternatives in place. We must insist on involving both Trump-supporting evangelicals and right-wing religious-Zionists in resolving the situation, lest we miss out on the opportunity to moderate the extremism from within.  These extremists, while at times violent and uncivilized, appear to serve a real geopolitical purpose in the collateral damage that they inflict upon the corrupt systems of power that they so crudely exploit. The inherently uncontrollable nature of their behavior forcibly introduces an variable of uncertainty into the political equation that, if we’re lucky, may eventually expose both countries to subsequent corrective action.

For many American evangelicals and Israeli religious Zionists, the status-quo is untenable. For many still, the extremist, populist alternatives to the current state of corruption do not appear be any better, and many apologetically attempt to distance themselves from the violence and racism of their coreligionists. In my opinion, devout evangelicals/religious-Zionists need not worry about associating themselves with their corrupt, hateful leaders as long as they intend on working from within. The pathetic caricatures of genocidal rabbis and performative pastors should wake us up to the dangers of religious fundamentalism, but they shouldn’t drive us away from our faith. Providence works in mysterious ways, and I wouldn’t discount the importance of such destructive nihilism in the evolution of a new and improved world order.

—

[1]“During the late and present Indian Wars, the frontiers of this province have been repeatedly attacked and ravaged by skulking parties of the Indians who have with the most savage cruelty, murdered men, women, and children without distinction and have reduced near a thousand families to the most extreme distress. It grieves us to the very heart to see such of our frontier inhabitants as have escaped from savage fury with the loss of their parents, their children, their husbands, wives, or relatives left destitute by the public and exposed to the most cruel poverty and wretchedness…We humbly conceive that it is contrary to the maxims of good policy and extremely dangerous to our frontiers to suffer any Indians of what tribe soever to live within the inhabited parts of this province while we are engaged in an Indian war. As experience has taught us that they are all perfidious and their claim to freedom and independency puts it in their power to act as spies, to entertain and give intelligence to our enemies, and to furnish them with provisions and warlike stores. To this fatal intercourse between our pretended friends and open enemies we must ascribe the greatest part of the ravages and murders that have been committed in the course of this and the last Indian war. We therefore pray that this grievance be taken under consideration and remedied…We daily lament that numbers of our nearest and dearest relatives are still in captivity amongst the savage heathen, to be trained up in all their ignorance and barbarity or be tortured to death with all the contrivances of Indian cruelty for attempting to make their escape from bondage. We see they pay no regard to the many solemn promises which they have made to restore our friends who are in bondage amongst them. We therefore earnestly pray that no trade may hereafter be permitted to be carried on with them until our brethren and relatives are brought home to us.”

“A Declaration and Remonstrance of the Distressed and Bleeding Frontier Inhabitants of the Province of Pennsylvania” (1764)